Metacognition: MUNUC

Over the weekend, several people from the Academy as well as myself spent the weekend at the Model United Nations of the University of Chicago, or MUNUC for short. I was to represent the nation of Madagascar in the World Conference on Women delegation. The two topics for possible discussion were A: Maternal Health, or B: Sex Work. I spent a few days before the conference doing research on both topics, gathering information about Madagascar's viewpoint on both maternal health and sex work. It was a long and tedious process, but I was able to find Madagascar's stand on both issues.

When walking into the morning (and evening) conferences, I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to say to the rest of the 350 or so delegates, who represented a grand total of 153 different nations from around the world. I never thought that in 8 hours of intense, and often hectic discussion that I would hear so many different ideas and proposals. I honestly had no clue what I was in for when I walked into this conference, but let me tell you, it was pretty awesome. I sat and listened to hundreds of delegates speak about the pressing issues that plagued women in societies all over the world. At first, I thought it was going to be an every-man-for-himself kind of ordeal, but listening to nations build off of one another's ideas made me see that this conference was all about working together. It would be a major understatement if I told you that coming up with a solution for improving maternal health was easy. We argued and debated for four days over viable and affordable options for each individual country's needs.

I discovered that my thinking process changes dramatically when I am in different situations. During this conference, I was able to see my thought process evolve from a nation's individual and basic ideas to writing resolutions and amendments that could improve our entire world. I could have never done that on my own or without the opportunity to experience a Model United Nations conference.

It is important to realize that you can never achieve something so big all by yourself. It took 350 delegates from 153 different nations working 8 hours a day for 4 days to come up with a single resolution. I came to this conference with only a 3 page packet of information on Madagascar's stand on maternal health, but I left with a brain overflowing with amazing ideas and a brand new perspective of the world.